Hamilton thinks pole was key: "Momumental moment for the team"

Lewis Hamilton thinks the main reason for his unlikely win at Singapore today was his pole position, which he somehow got yesterday after a spectacular lap, beating the rapid Max Verstappen by three tenths.

The Brit wasn't fancied to win by many heading into the weekend, as Mercedes have always struggled at Singapore throughout the last years. Sure, Hamilton won last year too, but that was because Ferrari shot themselves in the foot, taking out both their own cars as well as Verstappen's in the first corner.

This year, Hamilton did the unthinkable and qualified on pole, well above both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. He never gave away that lead during the two hours of racing, and has extended his championship lead to 40 points now.

"It was long, but it was still fun," Hamilton said at the press conference.

"Driving this track is incredible, especially with these cars.

"I got a great start and was able to control the pack, control the tyres and push where I needed to push.

"It definitely got a little bit interesting towards the end with the backmarkers as you could already feel the draft from the cars when you were five and six seconds behind.

"And you can't really see the blue flags, they are quite dark.

"Max - you had an opportunity really.

"I had to go on massive defensive while still racing the backmarkers."

He then explained that his pole position wasn't only good for the team as a result, but it was a mental boost as well, given their recent struggles at Singapore.

"We knew they [Ferrari] were going to be spectacular here this weekend and we knew it was going to take something quite special to beat them.

"It was quite a monumental moment for us as a team.

"I definitely didn't think I'd come to Singapore with 10 points more [in the lead of the title], but I'm very grateful."